David Foster (16)

You can’t go wrong picking up any Fight Card story. Most of them are set in the 30’s or 40’s, the heyday of the classic boxing/mobster story. Push is a fight story, but not a boxing story and it is not set in the 30’s or 40’s. Welcome to the late 80’s and the world of professional wrestling. If you remember watching it on television as a kid, you will love this book. It brings back all the crazy costumes, all the endless routines including bouncing off the ropes, drop kicks, show more standing on the ring poles and jumping, giants squashing everyone else, tag teams, and more. The lead character of this story is a jobber, that is, a wrestler who is not a star, but fills in the card wherever its needed and against whoever is needed. But, that was before he saw someone walk into the ring bigger and badder than anyone ever and other wrestlers carried out on stretchers. What’s great about this story is that it combines the playacting of wrestling with serious fighting and, while admitting that some of the action is staged and improvised, also lets you know that getting pounded to the mat can hurt and that the steel chairs and concrete floor outside the ring are punishing. show less

Bridgeport Brawler is everything you would expect from a Fight Card story. It's filled with play by play boxing and martial arts action. It pits an orphaned underdog against ruthless mobsters and puts his will and independence to the test. The writing here is crisp. Five stars!

3 Punch Combo presents three great boxing stories by Paul Bishop. Two are full-length novelettes featuring Patrick Felony Flynn, a police detective by day and boxer by night, and the third piece is a bit shorter and features a boxing story from the point of view of a reporter. All are excellent. To get all three at once is like Christmas in July.